Arpanet_same_as_it_ever_was Right now, I’m reading media futurist Douglas Rushkoff’s latest book: “Program or Be Programmed.”

Normally I’d do my established book report post on it once I’m done. But he does a better job presenting the concepts. And I’m not sure I could do it justice in a single post. It’s such a great read however that I present you with two points from the book.

Social Media — Lacking Up To 93 Percent of Human Communication
“According to best estimates, only seven percent of human communication occurs on the verbal level. Pitch, volume and other vocal tone account for 38 percent and body movements such as gestures and facial expression account for a whopping 55 percent. As we have all experienced, the way a person makes eye contact can mean a whole lot more to us than whatever he is saying.”

Keep the above in mind when we talk about the difference between creating engaging content vs. just broadcasting. Broadcasting mindset assumes the job is done once the content has been distributed. Engagement understands content starts the conversation. Distributing it is, in many ways, just the beginning. And the above research reminds us why this is the case.

History Can Help Decode The Future (Again)
Rushkoff of course jumps in to the discussion of social media. In a very concise way he reminds us that historically the Internet has always been social — even during its .gov Arpanet days.

“The history of the Internet can probably be best understood as a social medium repeatedly shaking off attempts to turn it into something else. >snip< Our digital networks are biased toward social connections — toward contact. Any efforts to redefine or hijack those considerations for profit end up compromising the integrity of the network itself and compromising the real promise of contact.” 

Take It Offline
Even if we don’t think in marketing silos, far too often we neglect to consider the consumer’s offline experience in relation to her online experience. So even if we break out of the silos we can fall into when we’re “distributing messages,” we need to remember ”the real promise of contact.” And, to be clear, I’m telling this to myself as much as I am to you. This is not finger-wagging pontification from high atop Mt. Typepad.

Cross-posted to my work blog. Image back story can be found here.

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